Construction is a project-based job and has time constraints. Everything should follow a schedule to deliver the work needed without sacrificing quality in workmanship and materials. Modern methods of construction gave way to quicker and stronger structures that are used in today’s construction business.
Concrete is a construction material that is highly flexible and has a wide array of applications. They can be used for flooring, foundation work, walls, and other structural elements. They are used to replace bricks or stone and can be used to join bricks or hollow blocks together. In the construction industry, its flexibility makes it easy to set foundation and create slabs for structure. This makes it a preferred construction material because it cuts construction time in half, which depends on the curing and the drying time in different areas.
Concrete, cement, or mortar?
These three may mean the same, but there is actually a difference between them:
- Cement is a fine powder that is used as a binding element. It is a common type of building material that is mixed with different additives to create a desired effect. It is used in concrete and mortar as a binding ingredient. Cement is made of limestone, clay, shells, and silica sand.
- Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, and gravel. Water is added to activate the cement to bind the ingredients together to make one solid structure. It is used for foundation walls and other masonry structure. It is also capable of forming any mold or shape, which becomes rock hard when it dries.Today, ready-made mixes like concrete & grout products are available and useful in small projects such as anchoring posts and patching up chipped walls. Large projects such as building a house need large amounts of concrete. In such situations, you either have to purchase bags of cement and mix it with sand, gravel, and water or order premixed concrete that can be delivered by a truck on the location. This is also known in the construction industry as ready-mixed concrete.
- Mortar is also made with cement, but it is only mixed with fine sand, lime, and water. Mortar is not used like cement, but this is commonly used to bind bricks, stone, tiles, and other masonry materials. Mortar also comes pre-mixed and comes in different types for different applications.
Modern construction
Innovation in construction have given way to modern methods of construction. This makes building structures safer, promotes sustainable development, reduces construction time, and cost-effective. Precast or prefabricated concrete makes building faster by creating concrete panels off-site. This is ideal for repetitive cellular projects that can be erected on-site. Precast offers factory quality, accuracy, and speed in construction. These panels are measured beforehand to make sure that it fits every corner in the building.
3D volumetric construction, also known as modular construction, is a modern building technology in which a production of a three-dimensional unit is formed. Much as the same as precast, modular construction follows a specific form. But, unlike precast, it only produces slabs or singular pieces made to be whole when assembled. Modular construction is not restricted on concrete, as it can also be used on wood, plastic, steel and other materials.
Construction innovations make it easy to build infrastructures and houses, in which it meets the ever-growing demand for commercial buildings and houses as economies and countries progress. Modern technology has not forgotten traditional materials, it improved them to make construction projects meet time constraints and to build better.
